Open Hearts

I love the doctrine message that we are hearing right now in church first and foremost. Our life is so simple. Our Father gives us life on earth and gives us eternal life. What I love about the gift of life though is that it is a greater gift for our parents at first. Our parents, whether through prayer or not have received this ultimate gift and I can only pray that all parents lead their children to Christ. Sometimes our Father challenges future parents though in ways that can test faith and relationships. The ultimate passing grade though for parents that pass the test is adoption. 

So many times people touch our lives in different ways and one of the things that I love most about people is seeing the changes. I will admit that changes are not always good and it is our jobs and God's children to help bring those back to our Father to gain the ultimate freedom. But when changes are good God just smiles down on all of us and it is this great big grin that makes me want to serve him more and share his works. I will keep my words short today and His words short because I want to give a big shout out to a sister of ours that was in our wedding.

Amy Crawford Wagar has such a huge heart, and she and her husband have taken an ultimate leap of faith that we should all be proud of. I wanted to share her adoption blog with you. 

I love you all and encourage you all to open your heart just a little more. 

Romans 8

Life Through the Spirit

 ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 ⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

 ⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

 ¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

 ¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry,“Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Re Do

I had a thought yesterday as I was sitting in Church listening to Rusty preach. There is no doubt that our Father loves us unconditionally. We are all so blessed to have a Father who loves us no matter what we do and as long as we accept in in our hearts He will accept us. He will accept you even if you do not accept Him at this moment, but you will not feel the freedoms yet that followers feel.

Back to my thought though. I may be crossing some lines but what I hope to do is stir some thoughts. In the last few weeks and really the last few years NASA has been conducting research on planets like Mars and we have seen pictures come back of solar systems that may be similar to ours. I have always felt like we are not the only earth out there. I do not necessarily believe that we have little green men out there waiting to takeover our world, but I do believe that there is another planet very similar to ours in the millions of solar systems that exist. Our Father makes several references to the stars in the sky and I believe that he has them there for a reason. My thought yesterday was that our Father has His Son traveling from solar system to solar system and recreating the same glorious story that He gave us. Could you imagine sacrificing your Son over and over again for others so that they may live through you?

I do not know if this is possible, but I believe in everything that my Father does and would not put this past Him. His heart is so big and I know that He wants to share his love with all of us. On this Valentine's Day 2011, share your heart with those that you love and also your brothers and sisters that you have not come to know yet.

I want to share this verse today with all of you.

Ephesians 1, starting with verse 3

I love you all, and have a great week.

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

 ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

 ¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

 ¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Is anybody out there

I sometimes wonder what blogs are for and if people ever read them. Once this, as a brother puts it, flesh moment enters me I realize that my Father reads every blog and knows what is always on my heart.

I am so humbled every day by the thought and feeling that I have for my Father. I know that He walks with me every day on this journey and has opened doors that I never thought would open and has closed doors that I dare not enter. It is those doors that are cracked along the way though that give me the greatest trouble. I know that some of the doors are put there by the evil spirit to entice me to walk the wrong path. Unfortunately, the evil spirit doors are the ones that are cracked and allow us to see enticing moments.

I read a friends email today again after almost 2 weeks and felt like it was the first time that I read it. My heart just opened up to this brother and sister, and at that moment I prayed for them again.

I go through every day reading emails and posts on Facebook to see people rejoicing and struggling and I do not stop to think that these people need help and they need the guidance that is available to all of us. Just because one prayer is answered does not mean that all prayers are answered. We have so many ways to communicate our feelings to one another today, but do we stop and think about what these people are asking. There are so many unbelievers in our circle of friends that I want to reach out to, but at the same time I never pray for them. I have friends that will post one word messages on Facebook, I get emails and phone calls from customers that will pour their hearts out to me and I listen to them, but I don't hear them. I pray that I will make more of an effort to pray for these people to come to Christ like I have so that they can have the same comforts that I have every day. I do not have comfort 24/7 because I do see those cracked doors but I am so thankful that I can reach out to my Father and my brothers and sisters to help me walk the right path.

I want to challenge everyone to reach out to those around you by any means that your feel comfortable. Whether your conversations are in person, phone, email, text, chat, Facebook, or prayer, reach out and reach out as our Father reaches out to you with every step that you take.

In the words of Toby Mac and DC Talk

What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth

Ephesians 2

Made Alive in Christ

 ¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

 ¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

 ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

 ¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Wake up call

So much has been going on lately and I want to share some of it. I had a me moment a few weeks ago in which I tried to take on stress and it got to me. I don't like to admit it but it did. With a new baby on the way and sales at work slow I forgot that my Father is always there for me and He will walk with me. I asked for prayers from a brother and I prayed. Prayers were answered and I walk with my Father again, hand in hand. 

I also want to pass on that I am so proud of my uncle for his retirement this past weekend from the Air Force and his 26 years of service to our country. Greenley and I had the opportunity to join his family and my grandmother. 

The passage that I am sharing today did make me remember to forget and continue praying for people in my life that are not on the right path. Those that know me know my story all to well. I am so blessed to be surrounded by loving family, but I also have struggles in my life. I am perfectly ok with these struggles because I pray and I have forgiven though will never forget. I continue to pray for these lost souls so that one day they will see what they are missing. I do continue to feed these struggles with prayers and ask that my brothers and sisters also pray for my struggles and theirs. I LOVE the fact that I can be this at ease with struggles because of my faith. I do forget sometimes that I am not in control, but with prayer and my Father I will continue to walk the path that He has paved for me. 

I love you all, have a great day and a great week.

Romans 12

A Living Sacrifice

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

 ³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

 ⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

 ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

 ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

 ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Have you done your will?

I sit here knowing that I have procrastinated, like many I am sure, in creating a will. Every trip that Lauren and I take together I am asked about our will to make sure that our kids are taken care of in the event that we both should pass. I still sit here without a will, and I want to get it done but things keep coming up and we just haven't done it yet. As I also sit here tonight reading verses on my computer Lauren is watching a show in which a lady mentions that she is marrying a man because of his money. She mentioned that she had already married 3 times for love and she might as well marry for money this time. It is His plan that I read the verse I am sharing as this was quoted on the show.

We sometimes think of the end of the story, the book, or our life without thinking of the now. The now requires faith to know that our Father will take care of everything. On this day we remember the beginning of Dr Martin Luther King's life and he once stated, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase". Do you have this kind of faith? I know that I want to have this but, as I am sure with almost everyone, I do not. I sometimes feel like I have to control things in my life and our Father finds a lesson for me in life to let me know that He is here and always will be. 

1 Peter 1

 ¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
   To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
   Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

 ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Be Holy

 ¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” ¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
 ²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For,
   “All people are like grass,
   and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
 ²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
   And this is the word that was preached to you.

I love proverbs

Sins are so easy to accomplish and yet it is that dead end that our Father does open for us. For He will open many doors if you are willing to walk through them but beware of the door that leads to the easy temptations.

Proverbs 9

Invitations of Wisdom and Folly

 ¹ Wisdom has built her house; 
   she has set up its seven pillars. 
² She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; 
   she has also set her table. 
³ She has sent out her servants, and she calls 
   from the highest point of the city, 
 ⁴ “Let all who are simple come to my house!” 
To those who have no sense she says, 
 ⁵ “Come, eat my food 
   and drink the wine I have mixed. 
⁶ Leave your simple ways and you will live; 
   walk in the way of insight.”

 ⁷ Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
   whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. ⁸ Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
   rebuke the wise and they will love you. ⁹ Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
   teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

 ¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
   and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ¹¹ For through wisdom your days will be many,
   and years will be added to your life. ¹² If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
   if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.

 ¹³ Folly is an unruly woman;
   she is simple and knows nothing. ¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house,
   on a seat at the highest point of the city, ¹⁵ calling out to those who pass by,
   who go straight on their way,
 ¹⁶ “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
 ¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet;
   food eaten in secret is delicious!” ¹⁸ But little do they know that the dead are there,
   that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.